This blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Eureka!

As you may know, I live in the small town of Eureka Springs, which is doubly blessed. First the name Eureka proclaims discovery, the Greek, "I have found it!" made famous by Archimedes naked dash through the streets direct from his discovery of the means to measure displacement as he observed water spilling from his bath. I say doubly blessed because the name Springs, implies water springing forth unrestrained from the earth, just as human creativity springs unrestrained from the heart. And so, we here in Eureka Springs are a community of artists. People come here to walk the streets, breathe some fresh 0xygen and rediscover themselves. Nancy Gibbs in her Time Magazine essay, Eureka! tells that we are pressured to be more productive than ever, and that unstructured creative time is in short supply. My own view is that unstructured creative time gives greatest meaning to our lives by providing a sense of joy that enables us to cope with the rest of it. According Ms. Gibbs,

It seems we're on the verge of getting our jet packs--but no one has yet managed the time machine. Or better yet, the time expander. So we've got to play tricks on ourselves; schedule free time, however counter-intuitive that may seem. Deep immersion in a task--no distractions, no interruptions--can give the illusion that time itself is receding. We feel lighter, braver, our brains more nimble; we free ourselves to try and fail and try again.

We too often miss those Eureka moments in our modern lives, when creativity springs forth unrestrained from the heart/body/mind/hand/soul human complex. When was the last time you discovered something so compelling that you felt inclined to run naked through the streets overcoming all usual inhibitions? It can happen. Those moments allow us to feel fully alive, whole, contributory to the success of all. They could happen in schools if we were to let them, but we don't.

With the Eureka Springs School of the arts, I have been proposing a strategy to enlist corporate support. We have what they and their employees need. A way to buy time, refresh, and re-engage creativity. Being engaged creatively through the use of the hands is fundamental to human health, well being and efficiency. Eureka! It is a simple thing. Make, fix, create, plant, harvest, become whole. No need to run naked through the streets like Archimedes to proclaim what you have discovered. The beauty you have created will speak for itself.

About Me

I have been a self-employed woodworker in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1976. I live with my wife Jean on a wooded hillside overlooking our beautiful historic community.
In addition to work in my wood shop, I teach children at the Clear Spring School in a program called "The Wisdom of the Hands." My 10th and 11th books, Tiny Boxes by Taunton Press and Making Classic Toys that Teach were published in November 2016. I also write for Fine Woodworking and other woodworking magazines.
My resume can be downloaded at
www.dougstowe.com/resume.doc